Altsounds - Nevershoutnever! - The Yippee EP [EP]

Best EP title of the last year? Fo sho.

Most overrated act to emerge in the last year? Um, no not really.

Which is a shame, because that would have made for a great review opener. The problem here is that in the UK, nobody really knows who Nevershoutnever! is so that therefore makes it pretty impossible to be 'rated', let alone excessively. This too, is a shame, because soloist Christofer Drew deserves all the hype that he gets.

At first, I really thought that I was going to hate 'The Yippee EP' because of the cute press shots with a cat, the massive side swept badger-esque fringe and Christofer's quirky image and name spelling. Those Yanks, eh. However.... upon letting the music do the talking in a reluctant first listening, I found myself RAPIDLY falling for Nevershoutnever!. The songs are very friendly on the ear, chilled out, but exciting, officially unoriginal yet fresh, simple, and yet somehow also deep. This guy has the same light hearted, honest appeal of the likes of Kate Nash, whose music I am also a bit obsessed with in a really weird and unpredicted way, as, after listening to just one heartfelt track, it's easy to forget that you don't know her life story and that you aren't actually best friends. The safe duvet of comfort is ripped back to expose an icy-cold midnight chill of reality. A nice bit of textbook journalism there for literacy fans. Thanks, I'm here all week, tell your friends.

If you too, have been disillusioned by the likes of Traitor-Nash (Trate Nash?) and adore simple, honest music for a change, this Neversoutnever! is without doubt worth a listen. I would even go as far as to recommend that you buy a copy - yes, legally. I know. Strong words these days.

The soft, gentle vocals bob along the mellow rhythms of 'bigcitydreams' like ducks along a tranquil boating lake mid-summer at 5-past-Pimms, making this a track to kick back and listen to whist reminiscing about happy summer memories at the same time ironically commuting to work on a Monday morning in the ridiculous rain - this track truly is a blissful escape. As is the rest of The Yippee EP though really; the stripped down 'dare4distance' (can we stop using numbers instead of words now please? It's 2008 not 1998) is an all too brief step back from radio-friendly hits that are forced upon us every day, and gets good songwriting in perspective whereas the more lively 'heregoesnothing' ticks all of the boxes for the whiny, acoustic new anthem for the troubled American youth.

Lord knows that I wanted to hate Nevershoutnever!, and in theory, I probably should. But theory is what stops us from doing lots of things, so I urge you give The Yippee EP an unbiased listen and a fair chance because if you truly love music for what it is rather than image and trends, then there is no reason to dislike this record.

Major label A&R scouts - if you are reading this, you have found you're man.